Science In Public
Science writers, communicators, media, training, and public relations
AusSMC briefing 11 am Melbourne Convention Centre and online at: www.aussmc.org.au
Free public forums and media interviews in Sydney (25 August), Brisbane
(26 August), Adelaide (28 August), and Melbourne (1 September). [Read more…] about Stem cells: the potential, the reality and the dangers
Media call: 11am, 17 August 2014 with researchers and dogs at The University of Sydney Veterinary Teaching Hospital, NSW 
Pet abuse and domestic violence are closely linked. Animals can’t talk but University of Sydney vet Dr Lydia Tong has shown vets how to tell the difference between bone fractures caused by accidents and those caused by abuse. Her fracture identification methods are giving vets the added confidence to identify cases of violence against pets and could serve as a warning of domestic violence.
Now, in a new study with Domestic Violence NSW, Lydia is looking deeper into the connections between animal abuse and domestic violence to assess the need for better services to protect both human and animal victims.
“Around 70% of women escaping violent homes also report pet abuse,” says Lydia. “So vets are often the first to see evidence of abuse in a family, when they treat injured pets.”
“Different forces on bones can tell a story—the skeleton of an animal keeps a distinct record that indicates the force applied to bones from past injuries, breaks or fractures. But it can often be difficult for vets to say with confidence whether a fracture has resulted from abuse or accident.”
To give vets this confidence, in a 2014 study, Lydia collected cases of abused dogs who were punched, hit with a blunt weapon or kicked, and examined the fractures from these injuries. She then compared these fractures to those caused by genuine accidents. Her results, published in The Veterinary Journal, identified five key features of fractures that vets could look for to distinguish accidents from abuse.
Now, having given vets this reference to diagnose abuse, Lydia and her colleagues at The University of Sydney are gathering more information on the connections between domestic violence and animal abuse. [Read more…] about Can vets help fight domestic violence by identifying pet abuse?
Forty-four entries have been selected as finalists for the 15 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes worth a total of $150,000 in prize money. The finalists are from Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania, ACT, Victoria and New South Wales.
The achievements of the 2014 Eureka Prize finalists are inspirational and vitally important for Australia,” Kim McKay AO, director and CEO of the Australian Museum said. “The finalists’ inventions and research will save lives, safeguard our environment for the future, and ensure the viability of Australian industry.”
The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes are the country’s most comprehensive national science awards, honouring excellence in Research and Innovation, Leadership, Science Communication and Journalism, and School Science. 2014 is the 25th edition of the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes. They were first awarded in 1990.
[Read more…] about Finalists for the 25th edition of the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes
Three finalists and seven highly commended images have been selected for the 2014 Australian Museum New Scientist Eureka Prize for Science Photography.
The images bring you face to face with manta rays, moths and the crown-of-thorns starfish, and even closer to microscopic flowerbuds and human tissue wreathed by nanoparticles. They will be published today on the Australian Museum and New Scientist websites, and are also available for publication.
Wednesday 10-September: The first, second and third place winners will be announced at the Award Dinner and that information will be embargoed until the time of announcement in the course of the dinner. The winner themselves won’t know until it’s announced on stage.
Press release and high resolution copies available online at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/eureka.
Password available from
[Read more…] about Captions-2014 Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Science Photography
[Read more…] about List of finalists-2014 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes
This year’s $25,000 L’Oréal Australia & New Zealand For Women in Science Fellowships will be awarded next Tuesday evening at a Ceremony at the newly opened Jardin Tan at the Melbourne Botanic Gardens Observatory.
This year’s Fellows are inspiring young women, tackling problems in diverse fields of science.
[Read more…] about 2014 L’Oréal for Women in Science Fellows announced Tuesday 12 August
Researchers at the Centenary Institute in Sydney have developed the first 3D model of the distribution of immune cells in living mammalian skin.
“It takes us from something like a paper map to Google Street View,” says the study’s lead author Dr Philip Tong.
“We knew all of these cells were there, but not how many of them and where. Now we can dive right in and we see that some types of immune cells are evenly distributed, while others clump in strategic locations.”
The resulting ‘Atlas’, recently posted online by the highly ranked Journal of Investigative Dermatology, provides the basis for understanding an immune response at a particular site of the skin. It helps explain how the same challenge—for example, injecting the same vaccine or drug—to different areas of the skin can generate a different immune response.
Join us for a conversation with Geoff Carr, The Economist’s Science Editor, hosted by the University of Melbourne on behalf of the Parkville Precinct Communications Group, at a special viewing of the exhibition TRANSMISSIONS | Archiving HIV/AIDS | Melbourne 1979-2014. The exhibition showcases artworks, manuscripts, and other material from private collections and public archives explores the history of AIDS as seen in Melbourne.
Geoff Carr is in Melbourne for AIDS 2014. We have asked him if he could join us for a conversation about science, science journalism, The Economist, and his impressions from AIDS 2014.
12.30 – 2pm Thursday 24 July
Light lunch is provided followed by discussion in the George Paton Gallery – Level 2, Student Union Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville Campus
M/C: Niall Byrne, Creative Director, Science in Public
After training as a zoologist, Geoff Carr joined The Economist in 1991 as Science Correspondent. He then became Tokyo Correspondent in 1994 and in 1995 moved to his current job as Science Editor.
When he isn’t editing he has particular interests in evolution, genomics, biotech, AIDS and malaria, and renewable-energy technologies.
This is a free forum aimed at journalists, science communicators and researchers.
Places are limited, RSVP essential to niall@scienceinpublic.com.au
For more information about the exhibition contact or if you’re lost on the day contact Rebecca Scott | Acting Director Media and PR| University Communications Mobile +61 417 164 791, rebeccas@unimelb.edu.au